On April 7, 2022, design teams from across UBC competed in this year’s Design & Innovation Day (D&ID). Student teams from various engineering-affiliated departments presented their design solutions for technical challenges that industry and community partners had set out for them eight months prior.

The School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) invited a panel of faculty judges to score our students’ Capstone design presentations and select the best overall projects. We’re now proud to present the top 3 teams and their projects (in alphabetical order based on project title).

Team Project: Automated GSIS Assay

Team Members:

  • Justin Kuan
  • Eric Lyall
  • Benjamin McMaster
  • Alexander Jake Moersch
  • Bruno Ozaki

Community Partner: Aspect Biosystems

Faculty judges’ comments:This team had exceptional performance throughout the term, created a functioning prototype for an automated laboratory assay that meet their client’s needs, were well organized, worked well together, and presented their work and results exceptionally clearly.

Team Project: Bioprocess and Biomaterial Applications in Retinal Regeneration

Team Members:

  • Nadine Truter
  • Corbin Nold
  • Alix Savard
  • Nathan Howerton
  • Rosalyn Carr

Community Partner: Maxwell Therapeutics Inc.

Faculty judges’ comments:This team incorporated many aspects of Biomedical Engineering, including cellular, molecular, electrical and modeling aspects to come one step closer to a real world alternative to animal testing.

Team photo courtesy of Rosalyn Carr

Team Project: Polymer Sensor for Detecting Cortisol in Sweat 

Team Members:

  • Jonathan Gui
  • Thida Htun
  • Nadira Djafri
  • Nik Provenzano
  • Roan Raina
  • Arpan Grover

Community Partner: Lululemon Athletica

Faculty judges’ comments:This team took their client’s challenging goal and delivered a functioning prototype. This team’s work was always well-researched and well-organized, enabling them to obtain a functioning prototype despite their prototyping process being significantly delated due to circumstances outside their control.


Multiple different faculty member headshots.

Taking on complex engineering problems with only an eight-month window is no easy feat. It takes solid teamwork, communicate, expertise, and coordination. The 2021-2022 SBME Capstone instructors—Drs. Robyn Newell, Negar Harandi, Carl de Boer, and Anna Blakney—are immensely proud of the projects that all student teams presented at this year’s Design & Innovation Day.


This story is part of the SBME’s Building Today, Leading Tomorrow series. Follow along as we Discover, Invent, and Translate for the future.